A joint venture between LifePoint Hospitals and Norton Healthcare of Louisville — formed to acquire and run health care properties — has purchased Scott Memorial Hospital, a 25–bed community facility located in Scottsburg, Ind.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, according to a Wednesday news release.

Regional Health Network of Kentucky is the name given the joint venture, which was created in May 2012 between Brentwood–based LifePoint Hospitals (Ticker: LPNT) and Norton Healthcare. The Scott Memorial acquisition is the first for the joint venture.

"We are pleased that Scott Memorial Hospital is the first hospital to join the Regional Health Network of Kentucky and Southern Indiana," William Carpenter III, LifePoint’s chairman and CEO, said in a release.

“Under the terms of the agreement, the Norton Healthcare and LifePoint joint venture will invest $3 million in the hospital over the next five years and collaborate with Scott Memorial to strengthen the services it offers, invest in new technology, recruit needed physicians, and ensure the continuum of care for patients through specialized healthcare services provided by Norton Healthcare.”

The Norton arrangement isn’t the first for LifePoint. In January 2011, it joined efforts with Duke University Health System to assemble a network of hospitals in the North Carolina region. Since then, the Duke venture has spread to other parts of the country.

In March, LifePoint signed a non-binding agreement to acquire a Michigan hospital, the first for the group in that state. And in July, the Maryland Farms-based company acquired Marquette General Health System in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

But not every LifePoint pursuit has culminated in an agreement to acquire, including efforts by other local hospital operators to do the same. For example, both LifePoint Duke JV and RegionalCare fell short of acquiring the 265-bed Southern Maryland Medical Center.